Two taken to hospital after suspect package at British parliament

Two people were taken to hospital as a precaution, as detectives investigated a suspect package at Britain’s parliament, police said in a statement on Monday.

“Specialist officers are in attendance and the package is being assessed,” the statement said.

“London Ambulance Service attended and two people, a man and a woman, have been taken to hospital as a precaution.”

Police said they had investigated reports of a suspicious package at the Norman Shaw Buildings on Monday, where many members of parliament have their offices on the parliamentary estate.

"A suspicious substance was investigated by the Met Police and was found not to be hazardous," a spokesman for parliament said in a statement.

"The affected area was temporarily cordoned off but no evacuation was necessary. Two people attended hospital as a precaution."

A Conservative lawmaker, speaking in parliament, said the target of the letter was Mohammad Yasin, a Muslim lawmaker from the opposition Labour party. The government, Metropolitan police and Labour did not comment on whether he had been targeted. Calls to Yasin's office were not being answered.

There have been several reports of hate mail sent to Muslims across Britain in recent weeks, according to monitoring group Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks), and police said on Monday they were taking them "extremely seriously."